


Maybe Us

by phantom_rain



Series: A Boss and a Badass [8]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Weddings, lots of shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24299122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantom_rain/pseuds/phantom_rain
Summary: Sasha’s right and Ronda knows that, but that doesn’t mean she wants to admit to being apart from her fiancée for so long. Arguably it’s not that long, but when they’re so close to taking down this monumental milestone in both their lives, to her it might as well feel like a month.It had been mostly Sasha’s idea anyway to uphold the tradition of not seeing each other the day before the wedding while also taking an extra day to finalize everything. It would be two whole days before they will see each other again, and while Ronda knows it’ll be more than worth the wait, that doesn’t exactly mean she’s gotta like it for the time being.
Relationships: Sasha Banks/Ronda Rousey
Series: A Boss and a Badass [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722646
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This...is gonna be a ride.

Sasha’s hum is long and drawn out as a lingering kiss is pressed to her lips for a number she’s actually lost count of. Not that she minds though. She definitely doesn’t as she finds her hands unclasping in favor of tangling themselves in her fiancée’s hair. Her laugh is settled at the base of her throat and doesn’t make it much further as her actions only seem to spur the kiss into more intensity.

“Baby, I’ve gotta go,” she just barely manages to get out before her lips are captured once more.

“Mmm, don’t care. Jus’ a few more minutes,” Ronda mumbles back. When she feels the grip on her hair, her hands involuntarily move from Sasha’s waist to cup her behind before she carefully nips at Sasha’s bottom lip.

At this, Sasha giggles. “This is now the third time you’ve said that.”

Ronda hums. “Mmhm, and it’s the third time I meant it,” her tongue now joins the effort of enticing as she just barely grazes Sasha’s lips again. She just barely smirks into the kiss when a little opening for breath allows her the access she wanted.

Sasha’s initial gasp of surprise turns into a low moan as a skillful tongue chases her own for dominance. Dominance she is quite willing and ready to submit to as she presses herself further into the embrace. Another throat based giggle escapes her when the hands at her behind give a joint and firm squeeze.

“Hey uh...you both know I haven’t gone anywhere, right?”

And there goes the moment.

Across the room, Shayna has been about ready to lose her breakfast for the past several...however long it’s been. She honestly hadn’t been keeping time, but maybe she should have just to save herself some discomfort. One can only be pretending to pay attention to their phone for so long before certain noises start to interfere with the illusion.

Ronda’s eyes roll as she barely even breaks the kiss. “You’re more than welcome to step out for a second,” she tosses over her shoulder without turning away from the woman in her arms and the lips under her command. Eventually, she’s reminded that air is a necessity and she finally pulls away completely, mostly for Sasha’s sake. “Do you have to go right now? We can wait a few more hours.”

Sasha smiles and shakes her head while the fingers still in Ronda’s hair gently scratch at her scalp. “You know we shouldn’t. There’s still a lot that I have to take care of.”

“But it can wait...” Ronda all but whines.

“Not if we want to get married in two days, it can’t.”

Sasha’s right and Ronda knows that, but that doesn’t mean she wants to admit to being apart from her fiancée for so long. Arguably it’s not _that_ long, but when they’re so close to taking down this monumental milestone in both their lives, to her it might as well feel like a month.

It had been mostly Sasha’s idea anyway to uphold the tradition of not seeing each other the day before the wedding while also taking an extra day to finalize everything. It would be two whole days before they will see each other again, and while Ronda knows it’ll be more than worth the wait, that doesn’t exactly mean she’s gotta like it for the time being.

“But it’s _two days!_ ” The whine returns and this time it’s accompanied by a pout.

Shayna makes a gagging noise. “C’mon man, you’ve gone longer without seeing her.”

“This is different!”

“Nah, you’ve just gone fuckin’ soft.”

Sasha frowns and peers around Ronda to glare at the woman across her living room. “You really wanna start with me right now?”

Shayna only proceeds to raise her hands in surrender before she’s shuffling off towards the kitchen and well out of the way. She’ll be the first to admit that she does get some thrills out of tiptoeing into the lion’s den and poking at the top lioness. However, even she knows when it’s time to leave well enough alone and based on Sasha’s glare? Right now may be one of those times.

Rolling her eyes, Sasha continues to glare after Shayna before she’s returning her attention to the woman still holding her tight. “It’s only a couple of days. I promise it’ll go by super quick,” she grins and leans in closer once more. “Just think, the next time you see me, it’ll be right before I say yes to being your wife.”

Ronda’s eyebrows raise in mock surprise. “Glad the answer is still yes then, and I haven’t managed to fuck that up.” She laughs quietly when Sasha swats her shoulder. “I know it’s only two days and it already feels like more but...I already can’t wait to see you.”

“Shayna might be right; you have gone a little soft.” Sasha laughs, squeaking suddenly when there’s a light pinch on her behind. She then raises an eyebrow and levels Ronda with a look. “You aren’t gonna get in trouble while I’m gone...right?”

Blinking rapidly, Ronda’s eyebrows then furrow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m leaving you here with Shayna for two days...and I know how you two are.”

“What? Babe I-no. We’ll be fine! We aren’t even gonna—”

“—because I remember your birthday and...”

“ _Okay!_ ” Ronda interrupts with a loud exclamation and quickly nods her head. “I promise, we won’t get into anything. We’ll probably just be hanging here for the most part. Maybe do a live stream or something, I don’t know.”

“Promise I’ll make sure she behaves, Sash.”

Sasha glances over at Shayna who is leaning against the bar near the kitchen after having successfully found a snack. Her eyes roll once again on their own accord. “It’s not entirely her that I’m worried about,” she grumbles before walking over to snatch the bag of potato chips from Shayna’s hands. She smirks at the noise of surprise that comes from Shayna as she does so. “I don’t want to hear about any problems you two might’ve caused while I’m gone. That’s the last thing we need right now.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Shayna retorts with a bit of a half-assed salute. She just barely manages to get a hand up to catch the chip bag as it’s aimed for her head. Somehow, that still doesn’t stop chips from spilling out onto her shoulder.

Ronda shakes her head at the normal exchange between her fiancée and her best friend. She knows it’s all in love...sort of, but still that doesn’t make it any less exhausting when it happens. “I promise, we’ll be good. Now you go. Have fun with your friends, try not to stress yourself out, yeah? Everything will be perfect.”

Sasha laughs and steps back into Ronda’s arms before resting her head on her shoulder. “It better be. We’ve spent so long planning everything,” she then sighs quietly. “I’ll tell the girls you said hi.”

“Good. Except Lynch. I’m not sending hi to Lynch.”

Shaking her head, Sasha leans up and gently pecks Ronda’s nose. The two spend a few more moments saying goodbye, with Sasha and Shayna exchanging one last quick back and forth before Sasha is grabbing her last suitcase and leaving through the door. When the door closes, Ronda let’s out a quiet sigh.

“Shit, you’re getting married...” Shayna says out of the blue, successfully breaking the silence.

Ronda only nods absently while still staring at the closed door. It’s almost like there’s been a disconnect between reality and her brain and it’s only at this moment do things suddenly feel real. Her mouth eventually falls open as she is slowly nodding again.

Shayna frowns as she watches Ronda slowly move towards the couch. “You uh...you good?” When she only receives another absent nod in response, she moves from her spot by the bar and joins Ronda by the couch. Her frown only deepens when she takes in the full intensity of the wide eye absent look. “Ronda?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Nothing I just...” Ronda shakes her head and swallows thickly. “I’m getting married in two days.”

Shayna laughs as she realizes this is something that’s probably going to be repeated several times over the next couple of days. If this is how things are looking at two days out, she doesn’t even want to know how they’re going to be looking on the day of. She reaches out and gently claps her friend on the shoulder.

“Yeah, you are. That’s kinda what happens after they say yes when you propose to them.”

Ronda slowly lowers herself onto the couch. She looks up and is soon made aware of Shayna watching her with immense amusement. “What’s that face for?”

Shayna shrugs. “Nothing. Just sitting here enjoying this ghost impersonation you’ve got going on. Wondering if this is gonna be a permanent look for you. Which...if this is where we are 48 hours away...I can only shudder to think what you’re gonna look like when she’s walking down the aisle.”

When Ronda’s eyes only seem to get impossibly wider, Shayna groans as she realizes that perhaps that wasn’t the best choice of words at the moment. This is definitely going to be a long two days.

* * *

Huffing quietly, Sasha promptly ends her phone call as she proceeds down the hall of the hotel. She gives herself a mental pat on the back for not screaming at anyone. This time. It’s two days before her wedding and the last thing she wants to be doing is ironing out any unnecessary kinks that shouldn’t have even been there to begin with. The most recent target that just narrowly avoided her temper had been the company responsible for her flower arrangement. To Sasha, it was much to soon to beck “double checking” on their part as she had assumed everything would’ve been handled by now. Especially since she spent so much fucking time arranging everything the way she wanted. She’ll be damned if something like that is messed up, and she’ll absolutely notice if it is.

Another sigh as she stops in the middle of the hall and turns back towards the bellhop who has fallen a little behind with the cart carrying her suitcases. Her eyes roll as she doesn’t even think they’re that much, but the poor thing has been struggling since they got in the elevator. “Don’t hurt yourself…”

The poor boy finds himself blushing as it requires him just a little bit of effort to pick up the pace. “Sorry Ma’am…” he mumbles while trailing after the rather insistent woman.

Reaching the end of the hall, Sasha removes the keycard from the envelope she was given at the front desk and inserts it into the door. When she steps inside, she’s unsurprised to find very familiar voices loudly filtering into the foyer. A small smile tugs at the corner of her lips as she holds the door open just enough for the bellboy to slip in with her luggage. Her smile immediately drops when there’s a thud then a small crash.

“I swear to god, if you two fucking break anything in here, I’m breaking your fucking fingers.”

“Geez, sorry mom.”

“That wasn’t even me!”

Sasha’s eyes roll. “You can just put them right in there,” she gestures to the inside of the living area as she proceeds into the living room. Her arms fold and she’s a little nervous to find it vacant despite the light noise of the television playing in the background. Her head turns when she hears someone approaching from one of the hallways and immediately her smile returns again.

“Sash!”

Grunting, Sasha just barely manages to stay upright as Bayley wraps her into a hug that damn near breaks her bones right where they stand. She manages to free her hands just enough to return it as she chuckles softly. “Hey, Bay. I’m literally just getting here, and you guys are already breaking shit?”

Bayley huffs and pulls away before rubbing her neck sheepishly. “Okay, that wasn’t even me. You know _exactly_ who it was.” She rolls her eyes before nodding towards the rest of the suite. “This place is awesome though! We’ve pretty much got settled in okay, but we did do a little snooping in what’s supposed to be your room. The master bathroom is incredible and there’s a media room! That’s where we were when you heard the…well, nothing’s broken.”

“Ah, even if it was, it’s fine. Rousey’s payin’ anyway,” Becky strides into the room before all but shoving Bayley out of the way. “Move Bay, I gotta get my hands on the bride one last time before it’s considered morally inappropriate or whatever.”

Sasha shakes her head and for the second time in so many minutes she finds her bones nearly crushed as this time she’s picked up and spun around. “You two act like you haven’t seen me in years.”

“Nah, we’re just happy for ya is all. In two days’ time you’ll be all hitched and spoken for. We’re just proud.”

The nervous clearing of a throat behind them draws the trio’s attention and they both turn to find the bellboy still lingering awkwardly by the cart. He’s blushing something terrible as he lifts a hand to wave. “Uh, I don’t…wanna be a pain or anything, but you’re Becky Lynch, right?”

Sasha and Bayley share a groan as they recognize the big head ass smirk that splits Becky’s face. Becky on the other hand looks much too proud of herself as she address the young man.

“The Man. Becky Lynch. Raw Women’s Champion at your service, young fella. Whatcha askin’ for?”

“Oh! See, my sister is a huge fan and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind-”

“You know what…” Sasha mumbles as she’s quickly rooting through her purse. She produces a fifty dollar bill and all but shoves it into the boy’s pocket before she’s giving him a nudge towards the door. “Take that and tell your sister Sasha Banks says Becky Lynch fans are overrated.”

The boy’s eyes light up at the fifty dollars before he’s quickly nodding and grabbing the cart as he’s leaving the room. The door closes quickly, and Sasha turns back to Becky who’s pouting. Bayley on the other hand isn’t even attempting to hide her snorts of laughter.

“Aw, Sash!”

“Nope. It’s my wedding. I’m the only one signing shit,” Sasha practically tosses her purse into Becky’s chest as she saunters over to one of the sofas. Before she can even sit down, she catches the gaze of the woman lingering just in the entryway of the hallway and she tries to manage a small smile. “Hey Char.”

Charlotte’s smile is tight, and it doesn’t much reach her eyes. “Hey,” is all she says as she’s moving past everyone to head into the kitchen area. “I see you made it okay.”

Sasha swallows thickly before nodding slowly. “Yeah, I did…” she mumbles. Her gaze quickly shifts to Becky who shrugs and then Bayley who slumps her shoulders. “Glad to see you guys have gotten settled in.”

“The place is nice,” Charlotte hums, taking a generous sip from the wine she’s just poured. “Even nicer since it’s coming from Ronda’s pockets.”

“Hell yeah, that’s what I was saying!” Becky exclaims, wincing when Bayley elbows her in the ribs.

The air is awkward and suddenly so heavy where three of the four women aren’t sure what they want to say if anything. Charlotte raises her eyebrow and takes it upon herself to break the silence. “So…what’s on the agenda? I assume you’ve got everything planned out, right Sasha?”

Sasha nods slowly. “Yeah, I…everything’s done for the most part. Two days out, it should be, right? First thing we need to do is go pick up my dress. It’s done being altered and I didn’t want to pick it up yet, because I have no doubt Ronda would’ve tried to sneak and look at it.”

Charlotte hums again and continues to sip on her wine before she’s setting the glass down. “Well, we better get moving then,” there’s another tight smile before she's striding from the room.

Sasha quickly stands up from her spot on the couch, but she hesitates for a moment on following. She pauses by her other two friends before she takes a deep breath. “Is…she still mad at me?”

Becky and Bayley share a look before Becky is laughing awkwardly trying to alleviate the tension left behind by the brief exchange. “Ah, I wouldn’t say she’s mad. She’s just…she…well…ah shit, you know how Charlie gets.”

Sasha groans and squeezes her eyes shut as she had honestly hoped they were past this, even though a small part of her knows that it was wishful thinking. “So, she’s definitely mad at me.”

“She might be more mad at _me_ than anything else, but she’s not gonna say anything,” Bayley shrugs before wincing. “Not directly at least.”

“I mean, she could not be in the damn thing at all…” Becky mumbles, flinching when there’s another elbow to her ribs. “I’m just saying.”

“No no, but…I get where she’s coming from,” Sasha nervously bites her bottom lip as she glances towards the hallway.

Things have definitely been a little different for a while when she had originally made the decision on structuring her wedding party. When she had asked Bayley pretty early on to be her Maid of Honor, she hadn’t much thought it would have any kind of repercussions. She immediately found out how wrong she was when she saw the almost immediate change in Charlotte. It’s something the two haven’t exactly gotten the chance (or wanted) to address. Charlotte has mostly smiled and nodded through all of the planning period, offering support and being there every time she’s been called upon. Each and every time, Sasha couldn’t help but feel there was a hint of _something_ she couldn’t quite put a name to. She also knows it’s largely her own fault for opting to sweep it under the rug as opposed to doing anything else. 

“I’ll…talk to her,” Sasha states, even though to herself, she doesn’t even sound a fraction of convinced. She closes her eyes and shakes her head before clapping her hands together. “Let’s get going. We’ve got a lot of stuff we gotta do.”

* * *

Shayna wears a perpetual scowl as Ronda kicks her ass in yet another round of Mortal Kombat. Glancing at her phone, she realizes they’ve been on the couch for the past three hours and have not so much as moved. Setting down her controller, she groans and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Ronda, what the hell are we doing…”

“Well, _I’m_ having a good time,” Ronda shrugs as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re getting your ass kicked or whatever you’ve got going on over there.”

Shayna’s eyes roll so hard the action nearly hurts her. “No, I mean. This,” she holds her hands out. When Ronda only blinks, she groans again. “I mean, this is one of the last times you get… _this!_ You know? Look, you’re about to be married. For the rest of your life you’re gonna have that commitment.”

Ronda frowns. “You say that like I’m not committed to her anyway…”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I mean…shit, don’t you wanna do something fun!? Other than whoop my ass in any game imaginable!? Your nights of going out are about to be gone. Don’t you wanna do something other than sit on the couch!?”

This time it’s Ronda who rolls her eyes. “I’m not exactly in the mood to go out.”

Shayna scoffs. “Yeah, I noticed. You’re too fucking nervous and you need to relax,” she promptly stands up from the couch and nudges Ronda with her foot. “Come on, we’re going out. I’m not just gonna let you sit here like a bum two days before your wedding.”

“Shay, I’m really not…”

“C’mon. We’ll just go for wings and a beer or something. Sasha will kill me if your face freezes in the scrunched frown and you look like that on your wedding day. Now get your ass up and go change into something other than track pants.”

Not in the mood to argue, Ronda takes the time to flip Shayna the bird before she’s heading off to change. It’s not that she doesn’t want to go out, but she really isn’t in the mood for the sole reason of the anxiety she’s been feeling over the past week. The last thing she wants to do is somehow manage to embarrass herself in public, but at the same time maybe Shayna has a point. She does need to relax and being cooped up inside might not be the best idea in the long run.

When she returns freshly changed, her eyes narrow when she spots Shayna waiting by the door with her keys. “Nuh uh, you’re not about to go out and wreck my car.”

“Oh please. I know of this great wing place, and it’ll be easier if I just drive us instead of you rolling around with that bum ass sense of direction you’ve got.”

That’s exactly how Ronda finds herself nervously tapping her fingers against the passenger door panel of her own car. Conversation has been light and she’s found that she’s calmed down a decent amount even if some of the nerves are still there. “How far is this place?”

Shayna hums and taps her fingers against the steering wheel. “Not too far. We’re almost there anyway,” she smirks briefly. “Never thought I’d see the day you’d be so squirrely. Whole time I’ve known you, you’ve always had a stick up your ass. Banks has made you gross.”

Ronda rationalizes that she can’t exactly throttle Shayna because that would lead to wrecking her own car. Instead, she mumbles several unintelligible curses before landing on a simple ‘fuck off’. Her knee bounces only slightly as they turn down a street that’s a little more crowded with cars. She frowns and shifts in her seat to get a better look out the window at the neon light building sporting search lights and a decently long line outside by the front door. Her frown only deepens as they pull into a nearby parking lot.

“Shay what is this…” she asks slowly. Her eyes widen just a fraction when Shayna only smirks and exits the vehicle, leaving her behind to scramble with her seatbelt. “Fuckin’ hell, Baszler. Hey!”

Shayna tilts her head back and stuffs both hands into the pockets of her jacket, making it a point to pocket Ronda’s keys. “Yes?”

Ronda blinks rapidly and points to the building. “Where are we!?”

“I told you. We’re going for wings and a beer,” Shayna shrugs as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “They have pretty good wings here.”

“What!? Of all the places—you couldn’t have-we aren’t…Shayna, no!”

Shaking her head, Shayna approaches her rambling friend and places both hands on her shoulders. “Ronda, you need to relax. You’re getting married. Just have some fun.”

Ronda scoffs. “And if I don’t?”

Shayna’s smirk widens as she lightly slaps Ronda's face a few times. “Well, looks like I’ll just be keeping your keys then,” she laughs lowly before she’s backing away and heading off towards the front door.

Ronda squeezes her eyes shut and looks to the sky for anything that might be willing to strike her down. When she’s only met with clear sky, she groans audibly and shakes her head as she feels a slightly headache already coming on. After a moment of mental curses, she eventually follows after Shayna.

“Sasha’s gonna fuckin’ kill me…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Charlotte...Oh Shayna...
> 
> This is a multi parter. How many that is yet I actually have no idea, but thank you guys for sticking around! Hope you're along for the ride ! :3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shenanigans!

With wide eyes, Sasha’s unable to tear her gaze away from the full length mirror she’s currently placed in front of. She’s just barely aware of her heartbeat quickening as her eyes trace her reflection from head to toe and for a moment, she feels like it’s about to leap right out of her chest. For a moment…for a moment she feels herself wanting to cry because that seems like the only rational thing to do for her right now.

While she has seen it, and tried it on multiple times, Sasha still knows that this is the one. This is the design she worked so hard to perfect and once she had, she absolutely fell in love with it. Seeing it time and time again as it was eventually guided towards perfect had only served to make her heart beat just a little bit faster each and every time. Now that she’s finally landed on the end result, she feels like her breath has been completely taken away.

“Miss Banks?”

Sasha blinks several times before turning to the older woman standing off to her right. The woman is watching her with a gentle smile while she remains all the ready with a tape measure in hand. She feels herself blushing just a little as she realizes she must’ve zoned out.

“The dress. It is fit to your liking, ja?”

Turning back to the mirror, Sasha nods as her fingers lightly trace the sapphire colored jewels embroidering the bustline of her dress. “I…yes,” she whispers before releasing a shaky laugh and nodding her head. “It’s perfect.”

The woman nods in satisfaction and as she folds the tape measure over her arm, she offers Sasha a smile before holding out a hand. “Then let us show your friends, ja?”

Unable to find her words, Sasha only nods as she takes the offered hand that assist her in stepping down from the small pedestal in front of the mirror. As they move back towards the front of the boutique, Sasha finds herself pacing herself as the voices of her friends near closer.

“I’m seriously convinced you’re currently living through your next life as a toddler.”

“Bay, c’mon. Don’t be boring. This place is boring. We’ve already been here an hour.”

“It hasn’t even been that long.”

“Uh huh, it definitely has. I’ve been counting. Only thing worth doing other than sitting here on this couch eating these over fancy M&Ms. These are free, right?”

At this, Charlotte snorts while barely looking up from her phone. “Gonna be an awkward conversation for you if they’re not. You’ve just about eaten the damn jar.”

Becky proceeds to obnoxiously mock the two before she’s shoving her hand back into the candy jar. A jar that was definitely full when they had first arrived. Becky, not being one to stay confined to the sofa like she had been told, had decided to do a little bit of exploring. Only a few moments later, she found a candy jar she successfully commandeered and proceeded to help herself to its contents.

“Had to do something to pass the time,” she grumbles through her chewing. She stuffs her hand back into the jar and prepares to pop another handful into her mouth when she’s nearly left choking. Her eyes bug out comically and she drops her handful of candy directly into her lap as her mouth slowly falls open.

“Jesus Christ...”

Charlotte and Bayley, who had been jointly gearing at Becky, follow her gaze and immediately their eyes widen. Bayley is the first to react as she immediately gets to her feet, but the action doesn’t go much further than that as she’s left pressing both hands to her mouth. Charlotte on the other hand is a perfect rendition of a statue cemented to the couch as she doesn’t even blink.

Sasha is nervously biting her lip and her hands are clasped together tight as she feels the joint gaze of her friends practically burning right through her. She ducks her head a little while tucking a stray stand of hair behind her ear. “Well? Uhm...” she pauses and laughs nervously. “This is it.”

The dress is an elegant number and the only of its kind in existence. The mermaid cut hugs Sasha’s figure perfectly while properly accenting her curves. Jewels of sapphire decorate the bosom and teasing bustline positioned just underneath a thin layer of mesh that connects with a patterned display of jewels just at her neck. Lace is embellished eloquently over the white material of the dress and just the slightest turn casts a silver shimmer to the point where the whole ensemble nearly looks like it’s glowing.

“Sash...you’re glowing...” is ironically the first thing that comes out of Bayley’s mouth as she steps forward and takes Sasha’s hands in her own.

Sasha smiles and immediately wants to curse as she feels herself begin to tear up. It’s honestly never a moment she considered. Never a moment she saw herself sharing with her best friends, her family. Instead, now she’s here living right in the very moment and she’s struggling to even find her words.

“Christ Sash...you’re...” Becky, who has now joined them, is also at a complete loss for words. She laughs and shakes her head while examining the dress. “Ya know, isn’t white only reserved for virgins or something like that?”

Sasha rolls her eyes and punches her shoulder, causing Becky to laugh and hold up her hands. “I know. I know. Seriously, this... no _you_ look incredible. Bay’s right. You’re literally lightin’ up the place right now. Ol’ Ronnie’s not gonna know what to do with herself.”

Wiping at her tears just barely under her eyes, Sasha nods and smiles. “Thank you. Both of you, I...” she trails off after having mentally processed the word ‘both’. She takes a step back enough to peer around the two before she’s glancing at the woman who’s still seated on the couch. Immediately, Sasha’s smile falters just a fraction.

“Char...?”

Charlotte blinks several times before her gaze becomes focused and clear. She rises from her spot on the couch but doesn’t go much further as she offers Sasha a tiny smile. “You look beautiful, Sasha.”

Sasha’s eyebrows furrow in an unnamed emotion that resembles both confusion and worry. Her mouth falls open to search for a response, a question, _anything_ , but she’s unable to find anything that seems suitable for this exact moment.

Sensing the heaviness, Charlotte recognizes when she should remove herself from a situation. She’s quietly clearing her throat as her hands are clasped tightly together. “I’m gonna...I’ll go pull the car around. You guys can take your time here.”

“Charlotte wait-” Sasha is left time trail off with a sigh as the other woman is quickly exiting the shop. Her shoulders slump and she shares a pained look with her friends who only offer sad shrugs in response.

If anyone were to ask Sasha and if she were to answer honestly, they would know it’s partially her own fault things have gotten this bad. She definitely shouldn’t have waited this long to say anything and now she finds herself left to deal with the consequences of her own actions...or lack thereof.

* * *

Ronda quickly figures out that this isn’t any ordinary nightclub. She had a bit of a hunch when they were outside, but that hadn’t stopped her from pleading over and over again that she was wrong. It’s on this rare occasion that she finds herself wishing she would have been as she’s left being guided by Shayna who has the world’s tightest grip on her shoulder.

The music is pulsing loudly and deep and the lights are literally everywhere while the atmosphere buzzes with nightlife. If the scanty women in varying states of dress on damn near every surface imaginable is anything to go by, it’s a nightlife Ronda doesn’t exactly want to be a part of. Especially not right now.

“Of all the places you’d want to get wings at,” Ronda grunts as she tries to plant her feet only for Shayna to give her a firm shove. “Shayna, what the fuck!”

Shayna rolls her eyes and if it were possible, the claw she has on Ronda’s shoulder becomes impossibly tighter. “Just relax. I told you outside they have good wings here. That’s all we’re here for. Wings and a beer.” Her concentration is momentarily broken by the near topless duo that brushes past them. She nearly strains her neck as her gaze follows after them and when she turns back around, she’s met with one of Ronda’s death glares that leaves her grinning cheekily. “Ah, well. Maybe two beers.”

Ronda finds herself unceremoniously shoved into a chair at a nearby table. As she tries to stand, she’s immediately shoved back down and her scowl becomes even more prominent while Shayna casually takes a seat next to her. The table is far off enough to be out of the way, but it still has perfect view of a stage that Ronda is quickly angling herself away from.

Blinking slowly, Shayna relaxes into her chair and sighs heavily. “You’re acting like I just broke you out of prison or something.”

“Basically!” Ronda exclaims before shaking her head quickly. “Not that I felt like I was in prison, but you know us being here is a shit storm of an idea. What if somebody sees!?”

“Nobody’s in here looking for you,” Shayna then proceeds to nod towards the stage where a tall woman with red hair and glistening skin spins with a single leg wrapped around the pole. “ _That’s_ what people are in here for. We just blend in.”

Ronda squeezes her eyes shut and pinches the bridge of her nose as that same headache from outside slowly begins to intensify. “Sasha’s gonna kill me. She’s gonna kill _us_. She’s gonna kill you and make me watch and _then_ she’s gonna kill me.”

“Ronda, relax! Is Sasha here right now!?”

“Are those not literally everyone’s famous last fuckin’ words!? Usually right before—”

“And how’s she gonna find out!?” Shayna quickly holds up her hands when she sees another argument being prepared. “Listen, you’re on edge. Shit, you’re always on edge, but you’ve been even more on edge the closer we get here. We’re not here to _do_ anything. Just sit and have a good time and...holy shit...”

Shayna trails off and her eyes light up as the woman on the stage now has men and women alike clambering over one another to tuck bills into her thing. “You uh, you brought cash, right?”

“Shay!”

“Right right! Beer and wings. And...maybe something a little stronger for you,” Shayna stands and claps her hands together. “I’ll be right back.”

Ronda opens her mouth to protest, but it eventually dies off into a groan as she slumps in her chair. Her hands are tapping anxiously against the table while she does everything she can not to even look at anything at all, because she knows. What exactly she knows, she can’t quite put a label to, but she just fucking _knows_.

Reactively, she reaches for her pocket when her phone buzzes and her heart sinks at the notification. Because of course right now of all times would be the time she gets such a text. Her eyes lift just slightly as she tries to plead with whatever deity has cursed her tonight.

_Sash: wyd?_

Ronda sighs quietly because at least she didn’t call. She chews her lip for a moment before she’s typing out a response.

_‘Hanging with Shay. Decided to go out for wings’_

Ronda pauses and shakes her head. It’s not a complete lie. Hell, on her part it’s not a lie at all seeing as she had been under the impression they were really going for wings. Still though, her response does nothing to alleviate the small knot in her stomach. She’s quickly typing something else out to change the subject.

_‘What’d you do the rest of your day?’_

_Sash: we went and picked up my dress. I spent some more time screaming at the flower people. After that we went for dinner. I was just about to take a bath._

_‘Ooo, pics from the bath?’_

_Sash: don’t be gross. You’ll see me plenty the day after tomorrow._

_‘But I miss you ;('_

_Sash: soft_

Ronda can’t help but grin cheekily at her phone. She’s thankful that Shayna has gotten up to handle whatever it is she set off to do, because she’s sure she’d be called out for blushing right now. Not that she can help it though. Sometimes...most times, Sasha just...does that to her.

Before she can even fashion a response, she’s startled by a glass clinking down in front of her. When Ronda looks up, her eyes widen and her phone slips from her fingers, landing on the table with a clatter.

“You ordered the vodka soda, right babe?”

The woman’s long blonde hair falls over a single shoulder, but it does nothing to conceal the cleavage that’s barely contained by the world’s saddest excuse for a bra. Ronda is sure that she’s seen post-it notes that would provide more coverage. For a brief moment, her eyes do trace the woman’s caramel skin, and even in the low lighting of the club, she can see the faintest shimmer of glitter.

“I...no. I didn’t,” Ronda finds herself gripping the table like her life depends on it.

The woman hums and clicks her tongue. “Well somebody sent it over for ya, then,” she hums again as her body slowly begins to move in sync with the music.

Ronda is practically pushing her chair back as the woman’s dancing seems to near closer. “Listen, I’m not really looking for a dance.”

“No? But I heard through the grapevine somewhere that a dance is lookin’ for you,” the woman giggles softly as she reaches over and plants a hand on the back of the chair. “Name’s Kookie. With a K.”

“Listen, ah, Kookie-“

Kookie lifts a bare leg and props it between Ronda’s chair and the table. “It’s Kookie ‘cause I can taste as sweet as you need me too,” she leans forward and drops her voice to a whisper. “I charge extra for that, though.”

Ronda’s eyes nearly fall right out of her head and she tries to work out an escape route that doesn’t somehow involve touching the woman who’s becoming entirely to close. Her hands are tightly gripping the arms of her chair as she shifts uncomfortably.

Kookie pauses and tilts her head before tapping finger to her chin. “I think I know you, hm?” She laughs again as she’s all but inviting herself into Ronda’s lap while maintaining rhythm with the beat. “You hit people, right?”

“I...I mean I used to hit people. I mean, now I do more than just hit people but like...I still kind of hit people.”

“I have brothers who are all into that cage shit and they used to watch. I always thought you were kinda hot though.”

It’s when the woman is or actually grinding into her lap does Ronda instinctively grab her hips to still her. “Listen I’m...”

“You’ve got pretty strong hands,” Kookie’s grin widens, rolling her body one last time as she braces one hand against Ronda’s shoulder and the other against her knee.

Feeling a wandering hand on the inside of her thigh, Ronda quickly stands up from her chair and the reaction knocks the other woman to the floor.

“What the fuck!?”

“Shit I’m sorry. I’m...fuck,” Ronda groans and begins mumbling to herself as she’s quickly fumbling with her wallet. She pulls out a crisp hundred dollar bill and cautiously lays it in the angry woman’s lap. “Here, take that and just...I’m sorry.”

Quickly downing the drink left in the table, Ronda grabs her phone and all but sprints away from the table. There are way too many eyes on her, and she knows that as she makes a beeline for the bar. As she gets closer, her look of bewilderment immediately contorts into a dark frown.

Shayna is casually chatting with the bartender with a wing basket while she nurses a beer when she feels a firm tug on the collar of her jacket. She squares up ready to fight but relaxes when she sees it’s only her best friend with her usual grumpy scowl.

“Hey! Did you get the drink I sent you?”

“That’s not the only thing you sent me,” Ronda says gruffly before she’s grabbing more fistfuls of Shayna’s jacket as she begins shoving her towards the exit. “We’re fucking leaving!”

“Hey, hey wait! What about my wings!?”

* * *

Sasha sighs quietly and sets her phone to the side. She unwraps the towel from around her head and her fingers briefly tangle into damp blue locks. A small smile tugs at the corner of her lips as she glances at the unopened box of hair color she had unpacked and left sitting on the counter. She picks it up and examines it for a moment before she’s startled out of her thoughts by a soft knock on the door to her room.

Tying the plush hotel robe tighter around her body, Sasha carefully heads over to the door and pulls it open. She’s a little surprised and shocked into silence when Charlotte is awkwardly standing on the other side with two steaming mugs.

“Hi...” is all Sasha manages to say.

“Hey...” Charlotte answers back before she’s lifting both of the mugs. “I was hoping we could talk?”

Sasha opens her mouth, but only ends up nodding quietly as she steps back to let Charlotte in the room. She does a quick glance around before she’s leading the way towards the balcony where she slides the door open and takes a seat on the plush couch outside. She carefully takes the mug that’s offered to her and hums as rich warm chocolate touches her lips.

“I added a bit of spiced rum,” Charlotte says as she joins Sasha on the couch. “It gives it a little bit of a kick.”

“The ultimate nerve calmer...” Sasha laughs lowly before taking another sip.

For a moment, there’s only silence saved for the noise of the breeze between buildings and the city down below them. Sasha only continues to stare into the contents of her mug while Charlotte is absently looking out over the balcony. Eventually, it’s the latter that finally says something first.

“Sash, I need to apologize about how I’ve been acting lately. It’s...it’s stupid really, but it hasn’t been fair of me to be this cloud hanging around when we’re so close to your day. For that I’m...I’m really sorry.”

Sasha nods because she definitely has noticed. It’s been impossible not to notice when your best friend has suddenly done a complete 180 in mood changes. Setting down her mug, she places her hands in her lap before angling towards Charlotte on the couch.

“I know this might sound corny, but...it’s not stupid if it’s how you feel,” Sasha shrugs slightly. “Is...is it about me asking Bayley to be my Maid of Honor?”

Charlotte winces involuntarily but eventually closes her eyes as if she’s resigning herself. “It’s not fair of me. It’s totally not fair, because this is your special day. This is your decision. I just...I don’t know. It’s selfish, but I’ve always kind of thought you’d trust me with that spot.”

Sasha’s heart sinks into an all too familiar feeling because she knows Charlotte is right. She and Bayley are close and always have been, but as far as emotions go? Everything on a deeper level? Sasha knows that Charlotte has always and will probably always hold that mantra well of knowing her best. It hurts her even more as she even remembers the offhanded pact they made years ago about being the Maid of Honor for each other’s weddings.

“Charlie, you know I trust you with everything that I have and...” a quiet sigh. “I’m the one who should be apologizing because when I made that decision, I didn’t even realize how much it would hurt you.”

“No Sasha, come on...”

“No, I’m serious. We...we’ve always talked about it and...I don’t know to an extent I’m sure it feels like I kinda went back on that.”

Sasha drops her head and begins to absently play with her fingers. “There’s a reason I asked Bayley. For me that spot was kind of like the ‘Best Friend’ title. I didn’t ask you because I...Char you’ve always been more than that to me. You’ve always been the big sister I never had, never asked for, but got anyway because that’s how funny life is sometimes. You’ve always taken care of me even when I didn’t ask for it and tried to push you away and for that I...”

Taking a moment to pause, Sasha finds herself needing to take a much needed deep breath. “Charlotte, I didn’t ask you to be my Maid of Honor, because I wanted you to give me away.”

Charlotte’s eyes for impossibly wide and she nearly drops the mug in her hands. Her hands that are beginning to shake and she leans forward to gently set the cup on the table. Her voice is quiet as she turns to Sasha who is still fidgeting with her hands. “You want me to...?”

“I want you to give me away,” Sasha repeats before finally looking up and when she does, Charlotte can see how glassy her eyes have gone. “I want you to walk me down the aisle.”

Charlotte’s mouth falls open and for a moment, the only thing that escapes her is a watery laugh as she feels her own tears begin to well up. “Sasha I...god. I had no idea.”

“Well you couldn’t have, because I didn’t say anything,” Sasha laughs as well and wipes at her eyes. “I should’ve said something much sooner than two days out, but I just...I knew I wanted to ask you, I just didn’t know how.”

“And do you still want me to? Even after how I was acting?”

“I wouldn’t want anyone else to do it,” Sasha pauses and reaches over to grab Charlotte’s hand. “Will you? Please?”

Charlotte glances at their join hands before she leans over and pulls Sasha into an impossibly tight hug. “I don’t even want to think of a time where I would say no,” she whispers quietly before pulling back just enough to wipe at Sasha’s tears with her thumbs. “I just need you to know, I’m so fucking proud of you. I mean that.”

Sasha grins bashfully and ducks her head a little. “Even though I’m marrying Ronda?”

“Even then,” Charlotte rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “You’re happy. That’s...literally all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

“I can’t think of a word that covers it because happy it...it isn’t enough right now.”

Humming, Charlotte presses a quick kiss to Sasha’s temple before wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “We’ve got time to come up with another word for it then. We’ve still got everything to finalize and I gotta make sure you don’t transition back into Bridezilla.”

Sasha scoffs and hits Charlotte’s shoulder. “I am NOT a Bridezilla.”

“Yeah sure, okay,” Charlotte rolls her eyes unconvincingly.

The two continue to sit in comfort on the balcony, occasionally tossing plans and ideas back and forth for the events to take place in only two days’ time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feels and trouble...trouble and feels. Weddings are upon us T_T 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This...is long as hell. Hopefully y'all dig long chapters and all of this was able to land like I'm hoping.  
> Happy reading!

Bayley considers herself a rather confident and a well put together woman. She’s has accomplished great feats beyond the imaginable. She’s a multi-time women’s champion and Money in the Bank winner. Hell, she’s the very first woman to hold the title of Grand Slam Champion. She’s defended her title at Wrestlemania and come out on top multiple times. To say she’s ‘decorated’ doesn’t even do it justice.

All of that being said, her confidence is also unmatched. She has stared competition and defeat alike dead in the face and has promptly laughed at both on numerous occasions. There’s not much of anything left on this green earth that would leave her shaken. Well, if anyone had asked her about three hours ago, she would probably give that answer. Now? She’s unsure she could say the same. 

Nervously biting her lip, she shifts from foot to foot as her hands wring together anxiously. Not even before her biggest match has she ever felt so off center. Taking a deep breath, she knows what she’s about to do is probably going to change everything as she knows it. It’s definitely by far the most nerve wracking situation she’s ever been placed in, but she knows she can’t back down now. With another deep breath for courage, she squares her shoulders and does the single hardest thing she’s ever done in her entire existence on this earth.

Bayley knocks.

_“FUCK OFF!”_

Immediately, Bayley winces as the booming words nearly rattle the door so much it’s almost as if they were shouted directly her in her face. Her eyebrows knit together in concern as the shout is immediately followed by a thump and a crash on the other side. Steeling herself, she knocks gently again.

“Sash...?”

_“I SAID...FUCK. OFF!”_

Sighing quietly, Bayley awkwardly scratches her head as there’s yet another crash, and she can only imagine what the hell is being destroyed on the other side of that door. She’s one of many individuals who have been successfully put out of the room and it’s been just a little over an hour of her standing on the other side of the door trying to regain entry.

“Sasha, it’s okay...”

_“No! It’s NOT!”_

Bayley closes her eyes. “I promise it’s okay. It’s not...” she pauses and sighs heavily. “It’s not the end of the world.”

There’s a scoff and a thud. _“Oh really? ‘It’s not the end of the world’ that’s what you’re gonna fucking say to me right now!? ‘It’s not the end of the world’!?”_

Arguably it probably wasn’t the best thing to say but considering the circumstances it’s literally all she had. Placing her hands on her hips, Bayley taps her foot for a moment before she’s reaching out to try the knob on the door. She’s unsurprised to find it locked, but it was at least worth the wishful thought.

Groaning, Bayley let’s her head thump against the door. “Sasha, what can we do? How can we help?”

_“Tell everyone to fucking leave! I’m not doing this!”_

Bayley’s eyes widen. “Sasha...”

_“ **No!** ”_

Hearing footsteps behind her, Bayley turns around and lets out a quiet sigh of relief when she spots Becky and Charlotte walking towards her. She immediately finds herself feeling about two feet tall when Charlotte levels her with a curious look that is just shades away from being a full out glare. She raises both hands in defense and shakes her head quickly.

“What happened?” Charlotte asks quickly as she jimmies the doorknob before she’s knocking loudly. “Sasha!”

“ _Go away!_ ”

Bayley groans and pinches the bridge of her nose. “The flowers in her bouquet. She says they’re not what she picked out,” she pauses and groans again. “And now she’s saying she’s too fat for her dress and it doesn’t fit.”

Becky, who has just about given up on fighting with her tie she’s been at war with for the better part of an hour, quickly looks up with a small frown. “What do ya mean it doesn’t fit? We literally saw her in the damn thing two days ago!”

“I know, but…” Bayley gestures towards the door and sadly shakes her head. “That’s what she yelled after she forced me out of the room and locked the door. So far, all I’ve been able to get out of her is—” she winces when there’s a crash, this one being much louder than the others. “That.”

Charlotte’s lips purse into a thin line as she jimmies the knob much harder than the first time. She sends up a silent prayer before she’s lightly knocking on the door. “Sasha, honey, you’ve gotta open the door. Thing’s aren’t gonna be on time if you stay locked up in there.”

_“I don’t CARE! It doesn’t fucking matter anymore!”_

“Babe, of course it matters. It’s your wedding day. I know there might’ve been a hiccup somewhere, but I promise it’s not the end of the—”

**_“FUCK OFF!”_ **

Bayley can only grimace when Charlotte slowly turns to look at her. “I already said that…”

Becky huffs and shoves past the two. “Move, let me try,” she clears her throat before she’s pounding on the door with nearly enough force to knock the thing down. “Sasha, ya gotta open the door! We’re gonna go get Ronda if ya don’t!”

_“Tell her to go home just like everyone else!”_

Becky’s eyebrows raise and her mouth falls open just a fraction. Her eyes are slightly wide as she turns back around. She awkwardly clears her throat again before rubbing at her neck. “Well we might uh…have to break the door down.”

* * *

Ronda is only barely aware of her own reflection even as she continues to get lost in the mirror. Having just sat through an hour and a half of hair and makeup, she’s finally been left in silence to her own devices. She currently has one leg crossed over the other while her fingers absently tug at the sleeves of her robe. Inhaling deeply, she closes her eyes and the breath she eventually releases is slightly shaky. A light knock startles her briefly, and she opens her eyes just in time to find Shayna leaning against the doorframe.

Shayna folds her jacket over her arm and puts a hand in her pocket as looks on in curiosity. “You know, not that I need to tell you this or anything, but…you probably don’t want get married in just the robe. Might cause some problems with you and your lady.”

Ronda shakes her head and just barely cracks a tiny smile. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll try to remember the most important part of today: clothes,” she chuckles quietly.

Clicking her tongue, Shayna moves further into the room before leaning casually against the vanity. “Okay, I can deal with your nerves. This? I don’t know man; I’m not used to this. You gotta help me out here.”

“What…are you talking about?” Ronda frowns in confusion, though she doesn’t much look away from the mirror. She finally looks up when there’s no immediate response, and she’s met with Shayna’s narrowed eyes watching her closely. “Right now really isn’t the time for one of your riddles.”

“I mean you’ve been a bag of nerves for I don’t know how long. Now all of a sudden, you’re _this_ calm? It’s kinda freaking me out a little bit.”

Ronda smiles faintly and turns back to the mirror. “I don’t know Shay. It’s almost kinda like…it’s unreal right now? Not that it wasn’t real before, but it’s especially real right now. Being here, seeing everything. I mean, shit…have you gotten a chance to walk around yet? Have you seen this place?”

Shayna nods and whistles. “Yeah, I did a little bit of snooping earlier while they were doing your hair. It’s like…out of one of those expensive magazines or something,” she pauses to laugh lightly. “Really would hate to be you when that bank statement comes in.”

“Cost wasn’t ever gonna be a factor. I told her to get whatever she wanted, and I meant that.”

“And you? You’ve got everything you want?”

“Really couldn’t ask for anything else, right? She’s happy and that’s…literally all I’ve wanted,” Ronda looks down at her hands and for a brief moment she loses herself in reflection over the past few years. The years that have flown by at such an unexpected rate, that with everything going on as of late, she hadn’t even had much time to sit and think back on. If all things say the same though, she’ll be able to finally have that moment in just a few short hours.

The two fall into a comfortable silence before Ronda feels a gentle squeeze to her shoulder and she starts speaking again. “For what it’s worth, Shay. Thanks for being here through well…all of this.”

Shayna only shrugs. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m kinda hard to get rid of,” she then sighs dramatically. “But I guess you could say I’m glad to be here anyway. I’m proud of you or whatever.”

Ronda rolls her eyes. “Even though you almost got us killed.”

“Hey! You’re the one that keeps bringing it up! Nobody knows about it!”

“She recognized me, Shayna! That’s hardly, ‘nobody knows about it’!”

“Look, you wanna get caught or not? Best thing to do? Pretend nothing happened,” Shayna crosses her arms. “Was having a good time anyway, before you got all up pent up about it. Besides, I’m sure Sasha’s got more important things on her mind right now.”

* * *

Currently, Bayley is kneeling in front of the door as far as her dress will allow. A slightly aggravated huff escapes through her nose as she continues to move a bobby pin around inside the door lock. “Give me a sec, it’s been a while since I’ve had to do this…”

“I’m wondering why you even know how to do that at all,” Becky mumbles as she continues to look on with a small hint of amazement.

They’ve all lost count on how long it’s been since they’ve all been left stranded in the hallway. What lit a fire under everyone’s ass was how quiet it had suddenly gotten on the other side of the door. Their calls and pleads were no longer answered and it was so quiet, they’re sure they could hear a pin drop. It wasn’t until Becky made an offhanded joke about there being a window in the room that they suddenly scrambled to try and find a way in.

“How much time do we have?”

Charlotte huffs and checks her watch. “Just a little over two and a half hours. Which…is enough, but at the same time it’s not.”

Bayley nods and turns back to the door. Her eyebrows raise quickly when she hears a small click and before she can open her mouth to celebrate, the door is quickly swinging open. She just barely gets her hands up in from in time to catch her fall, nearly knocking over the woman standing in the doorway in the process.

The three women simultaneously wince when they take in their friend. Sasha’s eyes are dark and smudged while streaks of black trail down her cheeks. Her dark hair has lost most of its wave as it falls in slight disarray over both of her shoulders. The white robe she’s wearing is also smeared with the familiar traces of black that match her cheeks.

Sasha’s lips purse tightly, and her glare is solid before she’s spinning back into the room, leaving the door open behind her. The interior of the room is exactly what is to be expected given all the noise from earlier. Chairs have been knocked over, while clothing and makeup is strewn every which way. The only thing that anyone can rest easy about is the dress still hanging pristinely in its bag in the corner.

Taking charge, Charlotte leads the way into the room before she’s carefully righting one of the stools and placing it behind Sasha who has braced herself in front of the vanity mirror. She shares a look with Becky and Bayley before she’s left clearing her throat gently. “Sash, honey, what’s going on?”

Sasha’s lips tremble as her mouth opens and closes several times before she’s shaking her head. “I can’t do it…” she whispers, not breaking the staring contest she’s having with herself in the mirror. “Charlie, I can’t do it.”

Bayley, who had been fixing Becky’s tie in the corner, catches Charlotte’s eye. She nods subtly before she’s tightening her hold around Becky’s tie and dragging her from the room, making sure to close the door softly behind them. Charlotte sighs quietly before she’s gently nudging Sasha to sit on the stool.

“Come on. It’s just you and me,” she reassures Sasha while not forcing anything. “Talk me through what’s going through that head right now.”

“I wanted everything to be perfect. I worked so hard for everything to be perfect. Now the flowers are fucking wrong, my fucking dress hates me, and what if…” Sasha’s voice drops down to a whisper before she trails off completely.

Taking one of Sasha’s hands, Charlotte gives her a gentle squeeze. “Hey, just pause on that thought for a second. There’s no such thing as the ‘what ifs’ right now because you’re here. This is your wedding day. This is it, Sash.”

Sasha squeezes her eyes shut as she begins to feel tears well up. “I know! And maybe that’s why I’m scared right now, because before today it wasn’t…it didn’t hit me like this. What if…what if she changes her mind?”

Charlotte’s eyebrows knit together, and she quickly shakes her head. “Sash, you and I both know she’s not gonna change her mind, especially not now.”

“So? She basically let me do everything, Char. What if it’s because she doesn’t want to?”

“Sasha, she…” Charlotte has to pause and reevaluate her words as she rationalizes that she can’t exactly argue in the face of irrationality at the moment. Especially not when they’re on a bit of a time crunch like they are now. She squeezes once again when she feels Sasha’s hand try to slip free of her own. 

“You don’t know this and you’re not supposed to know this, so I’m going to need you to forget the moment I tell you,” she pauses and gives Sasha a pointed look before she’s sighing and continuing on. “Ronda and I sat down and had dinner some time around the middle of last week. Just the two of us. It was at her request and I was…curious.”

“You were nosy,” Sasha interrupts dryly while sporting the world’s tiniest smile that almost appears non-existent.

“ _Curious_ ,” Charlotte corrects with an eye roll. “Anyway, we had dinner and shit does she talk a lot when she’s nervous. I mean, she runs her mouth anyway, but Jesus. One thing that stood out though, was when she talked it was always ‘Sasha wants’, ‘Sasha needs’, ‘do you think Sasha will like’, and that’s just what I remember off the top. There was a point where I had to stop her and not only remind her to fucking _breathe_ , but also to ask her if she’s gotten what _she’s_ wanted. You know what she said to me? ‘As long as Sasha’s smiling, I really don’t have the need to ask for anything else’. It was the cheesiest fucking thing, but damn if she didn’t mean it. Honey, what I’m saying is Ronda would literally spend the time and money and whatever else to build a ladder to the sky and pick out a specific star if you just happened to point to it and say you wanted it. That woman loves you more than any action or word can even explain, and in your head, I know you know that. Right now, it’s just the nerves telling you otherwise.”

Sasha squeezes her eyes shut because she knows that Charlotte is right and there’s no other way to interpret that. She spent the better part of the night and practically the entire morning in a complete frenzy as her mind ran itself crazy on its own accord. Looking around the room, her shoulders slump just a tiny bit as she realizes for the first time just how much a terror she must’ve been without being completely aware of it. If anything, the realization causes her eyes to water and her jaw to tremble just a bit.

Leaning forward, she rests her head in both hands before shaking it quickly. “I literally feel like I’m gonna throw up…” she mumbles into her hands.

“I need you to breathe…and to also…not do that…vomiting all over you _and_ _me_ isn’t cute…” Charlotte screws her face up, but her grimace turns into a smile when she manages a small laugh out of Sasha.

Sasha’s laugh is water as she finally sits up. She tilts her head back and blinks several times while carefully dabbing at the corners of her eyes even though she knows her makeup has been long since ruined. “I look a fucking mess.”

“You do, but we’ll fix it. We’ve got…about thirty minutes before the photographer gets here and we still gotta redo all of that. I just need to know you’re ready.”

“I’m ready…” Sasha mumbles before she catches her own uneasy gaze in the mirror. She sits up and squares her shoulders while taking a much needed deep breath before nodding her head. “I’m ready.”

Charlotte beams and at Sasha’s certainty she finds herself fighting back her own tears. She knows she can’t break down right now though. There’s going to be plenty moments later when she’s sure she’s just barely going to be able to hold herself together. Blinking away her own tears, she grabs a brush from the vanity and begins to go to work on Sasha’s hair. Blinking rapidly, it takes her a moment to process the dark brown nearly black strands between her fingers.

“I know I’ve seen you plenty today, but this just…wow,” she shakes her head in disbelief. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you like this.”

“Oh, uh yeah. You know I did it last night and…I don’t know. Ronda’s never seen me like this.”

“Wow. You know, that blue would’ve gone great with everything.”

At this, Sasha doesn’t fight her sheepish laugh. “It definitely would’ve but…that look is attached to The Boss and…I don’t know. There isn’t a place for her right now. I want Ronda to have just Sasha today.”

Charlotte laughs gently and gives her friend’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Well let me go grab those other two and we’ll make sure she has ‘just Sasha’, alright?”

Sasha nods and when Charlotte begins to step from behind her, she reaches up and places a hand over the one on her shoulder. “Charlie?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you…”

Turning back towards the mirror, Sasha watches over her shoulder as Charlotte leaves no doubt to track down Becky and Bayley. Taking a much needed deep breath, she glances down and absently rubs at the momentarily empty spot on her left ring finger. A spot that shouldn’t remain vacant for too much longer.

* * *

The sound of heels rhythmically clicking against tile is enough to have Shayna’s eyebrows nearly disappearing into her forehead. Her eyes eventually fall closed and she rubs at her temples while the noise only serves to echo louder with the absence of vision. Eyes flying open, she sighs heavily before she reaches out to grab at the source of the incessant clacking. The action startles Ronda as she’s quickly stumbling to a halt.

“What? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Other than you giving me a headache? No…” sighing once again, Shayna steps in front of her friend while placing firm hands on her shoulders. “Look, just get it all out now, because once we go out there, you won’t exactly have the room for it. So, what do you need? Water or anything?”

“Shit, probably another shot of something would be great…” Ronda huffs while wring out her hands. While not tight, the sapphire neckless that hangs around her neck feels like it weighs about a thousand pounds while it’s complementary accessory around her wrist feels about the same.

Shayna rolls her eyes and gives Ronda a shake. “Probably not the best idea right now. Last thing I need is for you stumbling out there half sober. You already got me feeling like we’re on borrowed time anyway,” she shakes her head. “Listen, the place looks great, you look great, _I_ look great, we already know Sasha’s gonna look great. Just relax.”

Swallowing thickly, Ronda forces herself to take a deep breath while smoothing her hands out over her suit. It’s a two piece navy number that fights tight in the places it’s meant to and hangs loose in all the others. The blazer hugs her tightly while the seams split at the arms to form a cape that stops just at her waist. The silver of her heels compliments the diamond accents of her jewelry while any faint turns into the light draw attention to a light underlying glimmer in the shade of her suit. The heels give her a few inches on Shayna, and she finds herself swaying a little as she has to mentally scream at herself to remember _how_ to actually breathe much less…do it.

“I’m relaxed, I’m just…” Ronda trails off and her eyes momentarily widen when her ears pick up on the music change just beyond the door they’re huddled in front of. She glances over her shoulder and then back at Shayna looking oddly pale. “Shayna that’s…”

“Your cue,” she gives Ronda a nudge. “You already know we’ll both be barbecued if we hold things up, so go on. I’ll be right behind you.”

Nodding, Ronda forces herself to straighten up and take another much needed breath. Her hand lingers on the door handle for a brief moment before she’s slipping through the side entrance. Immediately, she’s welcomed by lights and sounds and she barely manages to school her face into a believable look of ease while she tries to take everything in.

Having scouted around earlier when everything was still being set up was one thing, but being in the moment is a completely different breathtaking experience. She had a general idea of what thing’s would look like based on the collage of photos she found in a album on their desk at home. No doubt Sasha had taken the time to perfect every last detail and Ronda knows this based on everything from the tiny little blue crystals hanging from the ceiling all the way down to the blue and white flower petals decorating the floor.

A quick glance over her shoulder leaves her smirking as Shayna is unashamedly and openly gawking at everything. She sends a smile of thanks to their officiant as she comes to stop just at the altar where she clasps her hands together. She jumps slightly when Shayna ducks in closer and lightly smacks the side of her arm.

“Shit, how much did this cost again???”

“I…have no idea,” Ronda whispers back while maintaining a smile.

Their guests consist of an even split of roster, friends, and family alike, but Ronda’s attention isn’t focused there. Instead, she looks directly past all of that to the open double doors at the other end of the room and it feels about ten football feels away. Subconsciously, she begins shifting from foot to foot until she feels a gentle but firm nudge to the back of her heel. Rolling her eyes discretely, she just manages to settle still and plant her feet.

Opting to keep their party rather small and close knit, Ronda clenches her jaw tightly, but still manages to maintain a smile even as Becky appears at the end of the aisle. It doesn’t take long, and Ronda can all but feel her smile twitching as they make eye contact and Becky sends her that familiar annoying ass smug grin. Ronda is instantly left wanting to knock the other woman into the thirteenth month as she subtly, but noticeably swags her way down the aisle. Behind her, she can hear Shayna snort and try (and fail) to cover it with a cough.

“Wow Ronnie, you clean up nice,” Becky grins as she takes her assigned spot behind Shayna.

“Don’t…start…” Ronda hisses back.

If there was one thing that she did kind of push back on it was Sasha’s insistence that Becky stand with her and Shayna to keep things even. Ronda hadn’t given a single damn about looking asymmetrical as she had campaigned for the Irishwoman to be locked somewhere outside until the end of the ceremony. Sasha had simply rolled her eyes and supplied a final ‘the three of you will be in suits anyway. It’ll throw everything off otherwise’, and that was promptly the end of the argument. Ronda had been stuck with the biggest pain in her ass less than ten feet away on what’s supposed to be the best day of her life. Now all that’s left is to wonder who the hell she pissed off to be cursed.

The trio flinches simultaneously at the blatant look of disapproval from Bayley who has also made her way towards the alter to take her place on the opposite side. Ronda huffs and shifts again as the anticipation is slowly starting to get to her. A small frown plays at her face when the music slowly dies down and the doors at the end of the aisle close.

“Wait, where’s Flair?” Ronda is quickly glancing over her shoulder at Shayna and Becky who only shrug simultaneously. She turns back around, and her small frown of confusion remains in place, even as the music transitions for the last time.

* * *

Sasha gasps quietly and stops just outside the doors. Reactively, she takes a single step back, but she pauses when a hand comes to rest on the small of her back. Her eyebrows are only slightly knit together when she looks up at Charlotte who mouths the word ‘breathe’ before slowly doing the aforementioned action herself. Getting the idea, Sasha nods and mimics her.

“You’re beautiful,” Charlotte whispers before handing Sasha her bouquet. “Breathe and it’s only one foot in front of the other. You’ve got this.”

Sasha glances down at the assortment of flowers before she’s nodding once again. She slips her hand through Charlotte’s offered arm and already she feels like she’s holding on for dear life. When the doors open, Sasha’s immediately aware of everyone standing to look at her and while she’s quite used to that considering what she does for a living on a day to day basis, this is something that’s completely different. This is something that leaves her a bit frozen and only when Charlotte gently squeezes her hand and gives her a little tug does she remember how her feet work.

When their eyes meet for the first time, even from such a distance away, Ronda is well aware of herself going slackjawed. Her eyes trace over the shimmering dress that’s even more celestial than she could’ve ever imagined even on such a vague description she had gotten seeing as Sasha had been so dead set on keeping it hidden from her. Eventually her eyes land on the smiling face of the woman she’s set to spend the rest of her life with and immediately her eyes begin to water.

“Listen, no disrespect but…if she decides to say no to you…”

“Ease off Baszler, I’m already heir to the throne…”

The whispering of the two morons behind her falls on deaf ears as Ronda feels like she and Sasha are the only two people in the room. It’s almost as if Sasha is swiftly and elegantly gliding towards her like she were perched upon a single cloud of perfection.

Charlotte on the other hand has to keep from laughing at the three women at the altar doing their best impersonations of dead fish out of water. A quick glance to her left alerts her to Sasha’s dreamy smile as her eyes only appear to be on the woman standing at the head of the group. Charlotte’s proud grin can’t help but widen.

Sasha had been so focused on Ronda, she hadn’t much realized she had kept her pace respectable. Her lone goal was to not trip and manage to spill out everywhere int eh center of the aisle and she feels a massive weight lift off her shoulders. That weight is replaced by a sudden giddiness as they near the base of the altar. After being helped up the small set of steps, she’s left to watch for a brief moment as Charlotte slips free of her hold and approaches Ronda. The two share a quick moment where they are much too close to one another to be heard by anyone but each other, with Ronda nodding along to whatever Charlotte is saying. When Ronda pulls away, she nods and laughs quietly before settling on a wide smile when Charlotte gives her shoulder a knowing squeeze.

Sasha tries not to choke up as Charlotte places a gentle kiss to her cheek before she’s finding her hand transitioned into Ronda’s. Immediately she’s flooded with warmth and familiarity and she can only hope that her blushing isn’t obvious to everyone in such close proximity.

“Hi…” Ronda murmurs quietly as they’re finally close enough to hear one another.

Sasha can’t help but giggle at the greeting. “Hi there.”

“You made it.”

“Yeah, figured I might as well show up. Didn’t have any other plans or anything.”

The two share a quiet laugh together before Ronda is placing a gentle kiss to the back of Sasha’s hand. There a small amount of shuffling behind them as their guests return to their seats while they jointly face their officiant who smiles brightly at them as she begins to speak.

_“Friends and family, we welcome you humbly as we join Sasha and Ronda as they have chosen this day to celebrate their marriage…”_

* * *

If time itself were to exist quickly and slowly all at once, that’s pretty sure what Ronda feels is happening right now. For the most part she hasn’t been much listening to the woman before them about the definitions and the importance of marriage. She had only been halfway listening to the short poem Bayley had been assigned to read, and she couldn’t help but snicker quietly to herself as she knows for a fact it was something that Sasha had picked.

Sasha can’t help but beam as she has practically felt Ronda sneaking glances at her the entire duration of the ceremony. On several occasions she’s found herself just barely suppressing a life as she feels the woman next to her shift almost anxiously. She’s only left to mentally roll her eyes at laugh at the subtle displays of impatience.

_“You both have chosen to write your vows and through these words you express the love, commitment, and honor bound together by these promises. If you will, please face one another and make these promises in declaration. Ronda? Whenever you are ready, you may begin.”_

Even as she had worked so hard to memorize and perfect everything she had written beforehand, Ronda suddenly finds herself wishing she had written everything down for today, because as soon as she looks at Sasha head on again, it feels like her brain has been zapped clean.

“Wow you’re beautiful…” she laughs nervously, drawing a laugh from Sasha as well. She takes a deep breath and nods to herself as she begins to recall her words. “Between the two of us, we have met countless amounts of people in our lives and somehow, we ended up right here in front of each other. It’s...definitely hysterical when I really stop to think about it, because the first time you ever met me you pretended to not know who I was, and ironically enough later down the line, the first time I knew I would fall for you was after you tried to hit me...”

* * *

Sasha’s jaw is tight, and her frown is low and downright terrifying as she all but storms behind the curtain. She nearly takes out an unsuspecting intern near an equipment cart and the poor kid is left scrambling to keep his balance. Everyone else is either familiar or numb to the actions and they all possess enough wherewithal to get the hell out the way.

“Sash, wait!”

“I don’t wanna hear it Bayley!”

This is the third week in a row they’ve lost a tag team match, not by any lack of skill or effort on their part, but the cheap ass combined effort of one nameless troll and a tacky southern cow. Needless to say, Sasha doesn’t like losing regardless, but to get cheated, not to mention cheated three fucking times in a row, is something that leaves her ready to scorch the earth with everyone in it and damn the consequences.

She’s angry, she’s tired, and she just wants nothing more than to curl into her pajamas with a big half gallon of cookies and cream. It’s not even her cheat day, but it might as well be seeing as cheating seems to be the theme of the night anyway. Her eyes only continue to roll as she can hear Bayley apologizing profusely for whatever she just knocked over in an effort to keep up with Sasha’s quickened pace.

“Tough loss, Banks. Kinda weird to see you get beaten at your own game like that.”

Sasha’s eyes roll so hard they hurt, and they immediately narrow into thin slits as she hones in on the woman casually leaning against the wall across the hallway. Her lip curls into a snarl at that all too familiar smirk that she wants to slap off that face whether they’re interacting directly or not. Either way, now is _so_ not the fucking time.

“Do not even start with me right now,” Sasha seethes through nearly clenched teeth.

Ronda’s eyebrow only quirks even higher as her smirk widens. “I’m not trying to ruffle your feathers or anything. Just wondering how it is you lost so quick to two people who can’t really wrestle. Seeing as you’re this ‘Legit Boss’ or whatever.”

Sasha scoffs. “Right, real rich coming from someone who got her ass kicked all over an Octagon once upon a time. Wouldn’t think wrestling would be something you know anything about.”

“Well seems that I know plenty seeing as I’ve tossed your ass around that ring plenty of times. I’ve got a title match with that Queen of yours in about a month, and you’ve gotta remind me as my memory seems to be a little shot,” Ronda pauses and makes a show of tapping her chin. “That was you I made tap out to get that spot, right?”

There’s a growl somewhere in the back of Sasha’s throat before she lunges. Sasha is fast, but Ronda is faster, and thank all of the gods listening that Bayley is fastest enough to literally catch her friend midair as a well placed right hook just narrowly misses catching Ronda right in the mouth. For a moment, Ronda is actually left blinking back surprise as she knows for a fact that punch would’ve definitely caused damage; busted lips at the _minimum_.

“Bayley, I swear to god! Let me give her a fat lip to match that fat fucking head she has!” Sasha’s screeches can be heard well down the hall even as Bayley still has her hoisted and is carrying her off towards the locker room.

* * *

There’s a momentary pause and Sasha finds herself ducking her head to laugh because she recalls that memory vividly. The funny thing is, she doesn’t regret a single thing about it, because maybe if that hadn’t happened, they wouldn’t have ended up where they are right now. She also doesn’t regret it because Ronda so deserved that and more at the time, and nothing will change Sasha’s mind about that.

Ronda’s grin is wide as she continues speaking.

“Things for us have been anything, but conventional, but I think that kinda adds to the story a little bit. It’s crazy to think that _that’s_ where we’ve come from, and even though it’s been years since we first got together, there wasn’t a single moment I wasn’t thinking about spending forever with you.

I’ve always made it known to you that my favorite moments are the ones we share where we can just be unapologetically _us_ whether that’s in public, private, or a stolen moment somewhere in between...”

* * *

The pain Sasha feels is almost blinding as she tries her best to turn over. A soft whimper escapes her lips and she’s left lying stationary near the very center of the mattress. The whimper eventually dissolves into an aggravated sigh when she realizes she still doesn’t have anywhere near the full range of motion she would have if she weren’t stuck in this particular position. Her eyes squeeze shut as she tries to will herself back into the arms of Morpheus and the side effects of painkillers.

“Baby?”

The faint smell of bacon wafts across her nostrils and on instinct she wants to sit up quickly. This proves to be a mistake as the action pulls at her back and she’s left gasping again while she settles back against the pillows, feeling completely useless for all the world. Angling her head to the side, she just manages to force a smile as she spots her girlfriend watching her by the door.

“Hey, I’m up…”

“But you shouldn’t be…” Ronda clicks her tongue before she’s stepping further into the room with the tray she has in hand. She carefully sets it down on the bed and she helps Sasha up against the pillows before carefully placing the tray over her lap. “Your back still bothering you?”

Sasha grunts while tearing into a strip of bacon. “Seems like it’s somehow worse this morning than it was last night,” she grumbles before slumping against the pillows. “What if I should just retire.”

Ronda blinks rapidly. “What!? You’re not serious.”

“No. I’m not, but it’s a thought especially when I have the back of a 95 year old woman.”

“Sash, you had a disc slip, that could literally happen to anybody.”

Sasha only huffs. “Seems like it’s always happening to me.”

Ronda’s eyebrows furrow and she thinks for a moment before she leans over and rests her chin on Sasha’s shoulder. “Well, I for one don’t think you should retire. Besides, who’s gonna beat everyone up for being mean to me?”

“Stop don’t even. You can handle yourself.”

“I can, but it’s much more fun when you do it.”

Sasha rolls her eyes, but for the first time in a full day she feels herself smiling and a big part of her knows that was Ronda’s intent. “How do you do that?”

Ronda only hums. “Do what?”

“That. You know exactly what you did.”

“Mmm no, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rolling her eyes again, Sasha reaches over to pinch Ronda’s side. “God, you’re so fucking annoying.”

“Maaaybe…but you love me.”

“Maybe…sometimes.”

“All the time?”

“Yeah…” Sasha mumbles before interlacing their fingers. “All the time.”

* * *

“With all of that, comes my favorite thing about you, and that’s how you always hold me accountable. With your permission, I wanna add something to that list I know you keep in that busy brain of yours. I want you to hold me accountable for my promises that I’m about to make to you.”

Ronda finds herself needing to pause as her voice cracks just a little. “Sorry…” she blinks rapidly while looking up at the ceiling in an attempt to keep her tears at bay. Feeling a gentle squeeze at both her hands, she takes a deep breath and looks directly at Sasha once again as she continues.

“I promise to stand by you and your dreams.

I promise to offer words when you need them, and to hold you when you just need me to listen.

I promise to keep working to make you smile, even in those grey moments where I just know you’re begging me to leave you alone.

I promise you my loyalty, my commitment, and to be your protector against all else.

Sasha, this is just a fraction of everything I intend to give you and I plan on spending the rest of my life making sure you know that.”

Seeing Ronda fight and nearly lose the battle with her emotions is almost enough for Sasha to nearly breakdown herself. Her tears are just barely hanging on at the corner of her eyes. She lifts their joined hands to lips where she places a gentle kiss as she’s allowed to pick up where they’ve previous left off.

_“Sasha, whenever you’re ready…”_

Nodding, Sasha makes it a point to interlace their fingers this time as she leaves their hands suspended between the two of them. Ducking her head, she chews her lip in thought for a moment before she’s laughing quietly. 

“I...I honestly struggled with where to start, because there were just so many beginnings, even though they all lead up to the same ending and that’s me being right here in front of you. If anyone had asked me when we first met would I ever see myself here, the PG answer would probably be a no, but…here we are,” Sasha’s smile widens when Ronda laughs. “With all of that, I decided on the only place I felt it right to start; by thanking you.”

“We’ve crossed so many paths and just as I’ve chosen you, you have chosen me, and I thank you for that.

I thank you for your support, your honesty, and your abundance of commitment.

I thank you for making the decision to go on this journey with me as my life partner, especially in those difficult times where the end seemed much closer than the beginning...”

* * *

She’s cold and Ronda knows that has absolutely nothing to do with the near subzero temperature outside. The rain is unnecessarily heavy and even the quick dash from her car to the front door is enough to soak through her clothes completely, but that’s the last thing on her mind. Jogging up the step, she’s quickly fumbling with her keys and she curses loudly when they slip through her hands and fall into a small puddle forming at her feet. Eventually, she recovers enough to stick them in the door, but she’s met with immediate resistance as the door doesn’t budge.

“Fuck!” She exclaims before pounding her fist loudly against the door. “Sasha, open the door!”

It’s unsurprising that her knocks go unanswered, but that doesn’t keep her from trying. She even reaches down and rattles the doorknob a few times, even though she knows that with the deadbolt in place, she’s not going to get any closer to setting foot in her house. Groaning, Ronda only returns to knocking before pressing her forehead against the door. “Sasha please! I’m sorry!”

Inside the house, Sasha has her knees drawn up to her chin and her hands are clasped at her wrists while she’s leaning against the door. Her eyes screw shut as the pounding only seems to start up again while tears continue to flow down her cheeks.

“Sash, come on. Just open the door so I can…Baby, I’m sorry! _Please!_ ”

She shakes her head again.

“Sasha!”

More tears fall.

“Goddamn it!” Ronda hisses and her hand finally falls limp against the door. She drags her hands through her wet hair and grips tightly at the roots. She feels completely numb to the rain by now despite the fact it’s falling with such velocity, it initially felt like it was glass tearing into her skin.

Slumping away from the door, she continues to curse repeatedly as she only choice she has is to retreat back to her car, lest she take the route of freezing to death. Honestly, given the circumstances, the latter definitely seems like the better option right now. She briefly pounds a fist against the roof of her car before she’s leaning against it with her head pressed to her forearm.

A tight grip on her arm startles her as she finds herself quickly spun around. Ronda’s eyes widen as Sasha glares back at her. The blue of her hair has nearly gone dark as it’s plastered close to her head, and despite the rain, Ronda knows the wetness at her cheeks has nothing to do with it. Before she can open her mouth to say anything, Sasha gives her a firm shove and if it weren’t for her car in the driveway, she definitely would’ve fallen over.

“Sash I…” Ronda finds her voice getting caught in the noise of the rain and her hands fall limply at her sides. “I-I’m sorry…”

Sasha remains silent and if one were to look closely, they could see the smallest of trembles in her jaw. Instead, she’s suddenly lurching forward and pinning Ronda flush against the side of the car. She all but smashes their lips together and her hands come up to tangle themselves into Ronda’s hair as her actions are quickly reciprocate with equal if not more passion than what she’s giving.

* * *

“I thank you for sticking with me during those difficult times then, and any of those times that will show up in the future. Even if we both end up with colds like last time.”

Ronda can’t help but feel her throat tighten, because she recalls that fight as well as every other one they’ve had even before they were even together. She manages a shaky smile because she certainly remembers the cold they shared for weeks after that particular argument. With the way Sasha is looking at her, she knows she remembers too.

“I thank you for your commitments and the investments you put forth as we set out to build our new future _together._

I thank you for your acceptance of not just me, but my family as well. Because I know how hard that last part definitely was...”

* * *

“So…you’re dating Sasha, huh?”

Ronda’s eyes narrow and she glances down at the piece of lettuce that has promptly back into her salad. Huffing, she looks up and finds her hiding spot invaded by three very unwanted guests and immediately she wishes she were anywhere but here. She worked hard to get this spot for five damn seconds of privacy so she could fucking _eat_ , and now here it is ruined.

Sighing heavily, she places her fork down and rolls her eyes. “You all already know I’m dating Sasha. You remember I was there when you broke into her house right? When Lucky Charms over there had to replace that real nice coffee table she was so at fault for ruining?”

Becky huffs and takes a half step forward, but is pulled a full step back by a firm tug on her jacket. She glares harshly at the culprit and Bayley only dismisses her with an eyeroll and a small shove. Charlotte on the other hand is left glaring down at Ronda who hasn’t made a move to get up from her little table.

“We remember,” Charlotte states flatly before lifting her chin. “But we never got a chance to talk about it.”

“Oh, we discussed it plenty, and we came to the agreement you three are too fucking nosy for your own good,” Ronda snorts while carefully eyeing the three. In her mind, she’s quickly running through the route she would need to take to get herself out of this rather quickly if she needs to. The order of incapacitation rearranges itself in her mind several times and eventually she settles that dogs tend to bark louder than they bite. That being said, Ronda makes it a point to keep an eye on Bayley in particular who is just a half step behind the other two and watching her silently. Ronda raises an eyebrow and when Bayley mimics the action, a tiny smirk tugs at the corner of Ronda’s lips. She mentally laughs to herself when she identifies the lone cat amongst the dogs. She’s always been more of a cat person anyway.

“You have the attention span of a baby,” Becky exclaims, slamming her fist down on the table to get Ronda’s attention.

Ronda’s eyes move down from the fist and back up to Becky as her small smirk widens to a sickly sweet Cheshire grin. “Lynch, my attention is the very last thing you want. So, since you like to run your mouth so much, I’ll let you do the talking for the group here,” she sits back and folds her arms. “The fuck do you want?” 

“We want to know what you want with Sasha,” Charlotte snipes back quickly. “Well? What is it? A fling or an actual thing you’re serious about?”

“I mean I wouldn’t say it’s serious yet,” Ronda shrugs nonchalantly, rolling her eyes when that causes the trio to stiffen in unison. “It’s just kind of…exclusively casual? We’re still in the stage of figuring everything out right now.”

“We just need to make sure you’re not bedding her for the belt, or somethin’.”

Ronda’s fists clench in her lap and the glare she levels at Becky is nearly enough to turn the other woman to stone. “In case you forgot, she only just won it from me. I had the damn thing first, and if you ever suggest something like that again, I’ll knock that twelve dollar color right off your head so everyone can see what a ‘natural redhead’ you fucking are.”

“You know what, Rousey—”

“Fuckin’ what, Lynch?!”

“Hey!”

The bickering is brought to an end before it can really get started and all eyes turn to Sasha who is all clad in ring gear watching them closely. When she takes in all four people, her eyes roll, and she immediately pinches the bridge of her nose. “What the hell is happening…”

“Just a talk.” “Just a chat.” “I’m having my lunch ruined.”

Sasha sighs heavily and sends Ronda an apologetic look before she’s leveling her friends with a glare of her own. “Becky, bring your ass, we’ve got a match. You two…please find something else to do other than harass her. _Please_.”

There a joint amount of grumbling and Ronda can only watch smugly as the group separates like scolded children. She is only a tiny bit surprised when Bayley opts to linger behind everyone else. Sitting back in her chair once again, Ronda folds her hands back into her lap and waits.

Bayley’s look of supposed uneasiness immediately turns cold as she appears to be staring straight through Ronda. “I’m not gonna fuck around like them. Are you serious about her or not? That’s all I really wanna know.”

Ronda smiles, legitimately smiles, before nodding. “I’m pretty serious about it. I’m serious though when I said we’re both trying to figure it out, but I know I care about her a lot.”

“Good, because I would really hate to be you if you somehow fuck this up.”

Nodding, Ronda offers the other woman a small wave before she’s finally left in peace. She sits back in her chair and sighs and turns to her salad, laughing again when she realizes that she’s suddenly lost her appetite.

* * *

Sasha doesn’t even bother to fend off her smug grin as she sees Becky blushing behind Shayna. She doesn’t even have to turn around to know that Charlotte and Bayley are probably doing the exact same thing where they stand behind her. Judging by the way Ronda is straining to hold in her own laughter, Sasha knows that she’s right. Shaking her head, she steels herself to continue.

“I thank you for...I thank you for coming into my life the way you did and helping me see the world in ways I never thought were imaginable.

Lastly, I thank you for understanding me, accepting me, and loving me unconditionally.

My promise to you is that I will love _you_ unconditionally in the ways that you have loved me as we grow together into better versions of ourselves. My promise to you is to not only be the wife that you want, but the wife that you deserve.”

The only thing the both of them can do is laugh to keep from crying, and it’s everything Ronda can do but to take Sasha in her arms and kiss her senseless right where they stand. The only thing that stops her is the woman in between them who starts talking again.

_“As you have both made these promises to one another, you have chosen to wear rings to symbolize these promises. The wedding band is a symbol. A circle that has neither a beginning nor an end. It symbolizes infinite completeness, and when you both look at them, may you be reminded of the infinite love for one another. The rings please.”_

Sasha turns around and accepts Ronda’s wedding band she had entrusted with Bayley. When she turns around again, her eyebrows slowly lift as she’s met with the sight of Ronda having gone red down to her neck while she’s tensely facing Shayna who is frantically patting her pockets. Behind the two, Becky has a hand clamped over her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Shayna hisses as she finally retrieves Sasha’s ring she forgot she placed in her inside pocket. She considers herself a pretty confident woman, but under Ronda’s glare right now, she feels about five years old.

“We should’ve just paid for stand-ins…” Ronda mumbles while rolling her eyes as she and Sasha come back together.

_“Ronda, as you place this ring on Sasha’s finger, please repeat after me…”_

Nodding along to the words, Ronda is briefly mesmerized by the ring as she delicately slips it onto Sasha’s finger. “As this ring encircles your finger, from this moment forward, so will my love encircle you. I give you my heart until the end of time. I have no greater gift to give.”

The diamond shines just as bright as she remembers, if not brighter, and the addition of the extra band of alternating diamond and sapphire jewels that has been soldered along the bottom only adds to the otherworldliness.

“You didn’t drop it,” Sasha leans in and whispers just enough for the two of them to hear, and she’s left snickering quietly when Ronda huffs and immediately blushes.

_“Sasha, as you place this ring on Ronda’s finger, please repeat after me…”_

“As this ring encircles your finger…from this moment forward…so will my love encircle you. I give you my heart until the end of time. I have no greater gift to give.”

The band Sasha carefully slides onto Ronda’s finger is near identical to her own, by way of the alternative jewels. The only difference comes in the from of a few millimeters of thickness is added in place of the engagement jewels Sasha wears on her hand. Seeing their two rings match right next to each other for the first time makes Sasha’s heart beat just a little bit faster.

_“You have both chosen to spend the rest of your lives with one another, and I believe I speak for everyone here when I say we wish you nothing but the best. Now, by the power given to me by the State of Massachusetts, I now pronounce the two of you married. Ronda, you may kiss your bride.”_

Ronda is painfully aware of the way that her hands are trembling as she brings them up to cup Sasha’s face, but honestly, it’s the last thing she cares about. This particular kiss they share is tender and chaste, but somehow it manages to hold more power and passion than any single one before it. This especially rings true as Sasha brings both arms to wrap around Ronda’s neck, successfully pulling her in closer much to the amusement of their guests.

Whistling does remind her that they’re in public and Sasha reluctantly breaks the kiss while laughing lightly. They remain close to one another with their foreheads pressed together and their noses lightly brushing. “Damn, I just realized something.”

Ronda immediately frowns as if something’s wrong. “What? What’s that?”

“I’m kinda stuck with you now,” Sasha teases. She throws her head back and laugh when Ronda groans and rolls her eyes.

“This is what I signed up for,” Ronda shakes her head though her smile remains. “The rest of my fuckin’ life and _this_ is what I signed up for. I must be insane.”

Sasha scoffs and flips her hair dramatically. “Yeah, insanely lucky.”

Humming, Ronda brushes her finger of Sasha’s ring before bringing her hand her lips. Her _wife’s_ hand. As she says the word for the first time in her mind and it ring true, it brings the goofiest fucking smile to her face.

“Yeah. I’m definitely the luckiest.”


End file.
